Expert: Tom Whiting - 8/10/2005

Question
Hello out there,

I am looking for a gift idea for my father.  I was thinking maybe a telescope, somewhere in the $500 range.  He lives in Canada in the winter where it is very dark at night and the stars are brilliant.  $500 doesn't seem like much though, so, do you think it's even worth getting one in that price range?  He only has slight interest in space/ stars, and it seems the only thing worth really looking at in that price range is probably the moon, Jupiter, and Saturn, am I right?  He does have a lot of guests up there that he could entertain occasionally with a telescope.  Also, the 2 cheaper models I've used both had broken dials - the ones you use to follow the planets as they move quickly, which is done by computers on more expensive models.  
So what do you think?  If you think it might be a good idea, what brand would you get and where would you get it?

Thanks!

Answer
Hi Jeff,
Well, in our great hobby, equipment (scopes) come last,
not first.  Knowledge of the night sky comes first.
You are in the right price range for a "beginning" scope
though...typically $500 will purchase a nice  basic 6 or 8 inch
Newtonian reflector telescope, basic meaning a Dobsonian
mount where you do the work finding things and no tracking
motors.  All that other stuff is extra, and actually inhibits
the owner from learning the night sky, thus missing out on
some of the enjoyment of finding things for yourself.

So perhaps a better choice of a gift is a pair of say, 10 x 50
binoculars and a good star chart, perhaps Norton's Star
Atlas and Reference Handbook (about $40) or a copy
of Cambridge 2000.0 Star Atlas (about $30 USD) and then,
it's up to him.
We place a lot of emphasis on 'self motivation' in our hobby
since it is so abstract....and a lot of people just don't like
a very abstract hobby, where the enjoyment, in part, comes
from the learning experience as opposed to viewing the
flashy visuals....as there are only about a dozen flashy
visuals....the moon, a few planets, a few deep sky objects,...
now you are down to the dimmer fuzzies...and those few
flashy visuals wear thin mighty fast.

But if you really must get a scope for him, I suggest
an Orion, a Discovery, or an Antares scope.....the big names
like Meade and Celestron have gone way downhill
in the past 5 years, at the sacrifice of good optics, so those
are the ones above that we recommend to our new club
members.   (Celestron went bankrupt, and Meade went public, pleasing their stockholders as opposed to fine optics
that they used to have.)
Also telescopes have to be mailed ordered to get a good one...avoid the local stores and the local "department store"
scopes...those long white tube devices, like Tasco
(we call them Trash-co's) and Bushnells...they just don't
work except for the moon, and that's it.

Any 10 x 50 binoculars will do, anywhere from $50 to $200,
so even a pair of K-mart specials will do a nice job on the
night sky....and they do a surprisingly great job on the night
sky...get's you halfway to a 6 or 8 inch scope for a fraction
of the cost....a great beginners "telescope".

Also, recommend you read Tom Whiting's sound Advice
for the Novice on our club website at
http://www.velocity.net/~bwhiting
Hope all this helps,
Clear Skies,
Tom Whiting
Erie, PA
Pres... ECMOG